Cullen

AKA:
Wait, is that his first name or his surname?
Fur-Shoulders
Kicker of Lyrium
Ser Actually Kinda Fun
Curly (Varric nickname)

Okay, all jokes aside, his name is Cullen Stanton Rutherford, but I honestly didn’t know that until it was announced at the ball in Halamshiral, and have never called him anything other than just “Cullen.” Whatever he’s called, he is the commander of the military forces of the Inquisition. He was born in Ferelden, a village called Honnleath, but joined the Templar Order at a young age out of a desire to help people. This choice set him on a path that would repeatedly intersect with some of the most important figures and events of recent memory, including myself, obviously. As a young Templar, Cullen was stationed at the Circle of Magi tower on Lake Calenhad in Ferelden. While there, Cullen was actually present for the Harrowing of the mage who would go on to be the Hero of Ferelden. He was also present when the future HoF returned to find the Circle tower overrun by abominations. Abominations who had trapped Cullen in a magical cage after torturing and then slaughtering most of the other Templars. Obviously traumatized by this experience, Cullen still wanted to serve but needed a change of scenery. So, he was transferred to another Circle, this time in Kirkwall. Where he repeatedly crossed paths with Hawke. He served under Knight-Commander Meredith, who would eventually be driven insane by red lyrium and try to invoke the Rite of Annulment on that Circle, which Cullen, despite all of his legitimate reasons to hate mages, resisted. After Hawke defeated Meredith, Cullen reorganized the remaining Templars and led their efforts to restore the city. Cassandra, who was in Kirkwall looking for Hawke, recognized talent when she saw it, and recruited Cullen to the Inquisition. During the fight against Corypheus, he served admirably whenever the Inquisition needed to be used as a fist to solve Thedas’ problems, with victories at Adamant Fortress and the Arbor Wilds, among others. I also helped him make the decision to wean himself off of lyrium, a long and painful process, but one that would ultimately be much healthier for him. He has since helped other former members of the Order to follow his path. Cullen remains a steadfast supporter of the Inquisition and its mission to bring order to Thedas, a mission that is deeply personal after the things he has seen. His biggest flaw, to me at least, is that he is in possession of a fantastic lion-themed battle helmet that he never actually wears. Other than that, I could not ask for a better commander.